HHS Terminates 22 mRNA Vaccine Projects, Citing Failure to Prevent COVID and Flu (Video)
But allows current taxpayer-funded mRNA bird flu vaccine contracts to continue.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has officially terminated 22 mRNA vaccine development projects totaling nearly $500 million, after determining that the platform “fail[s] to protect effectively against upper respiratory infections like COVID and flu.”
According to a Tuesday HHS press release:
“The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) today announced the beginning of a coordinated wind-down of its mRNA vaccine development activities under the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), including the cancellation and de-scoping of various contracts and solicitations. The decision follows a comprehensive review of mRNA-related investments initiated during the COVID-19 public health emergency.”
This is not a full platform-wide rejection of mRNA.
But it is a very public, high-level policy pivot—though it may simply represent a focus on bird flu vaccines.
“We reviewed the science, listened to the experts, and acted,” said HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. “BARDA is terminating 22 mRNA vaccine development investments because the data show these vaccines fail to protect effectively against upper respiratory infections like COVID and flu. We’re shifting that funding toward safer, broader vaccine platforms that remain effective even as viruses mutate.”
“Let me be absolutely clear: HHS supports safe, effective vaccines for every American who wants them. That’s why we’re moving beyond the limitations of mRNA and investing in better solutions.”
You can watch Kennedy’s announcement below:
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mRNA Projects That Will Continue: The Next ‘Pandemic’?
Some final-stage contracts—such as those with Arcturus and Amplitude—will be permitted to complete to preserve taxpayer investments, but no new mRNA-based projects will be initiated.
Per the press release:
“While some final-stage contracts (e.g., Arcturus and Amplitude) will be allowed to run their course to preserve prior taxpayer investment, no new mRNA-based projects will be initiated. HHS has also instructed its partner, Global Health Investment Corporation (GHIC), which manages BARDA Ventures, to cease all mRNA-based equity investments. In total, this affects 22 projects worth nearly $500 million. Other uses of mRNA technology within the department are not impacted by this announcement.”
One example of an mRNA project already awarded in November 2024 by the government is Arcturus Therapeutics’ ARCT-2304—a self-replicating mRNA H5N1 bird flu shot approved by the FDA and funded by BARDA and the Gates Foundation—despite having no long-term safety data and using a platform Moderna scientists admit carries “unacceptable toxicity” risks.
According to an AI-driven internet search, ARCT-2304 is currently the only Arcturus Therapeutics vaccine candidate specifically identified as being funded and directly supported by the US government (via BARDA) for pandemic influenza preparedness.
In April of this year, it was announced that Arcturus Therapeutics was granted “Fast Track Designation” from Trump’s Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for ARCT-2304.
The very next month, the Trump administration launched a $500 million “Generation Gold Standard” initiative to develop government-owned bird flu and coronavirus vaccines—targeting the very H5N1 virus it has been engineering through gain-of-function experiments, raising new alarms about pandemic orchestration.
Could all of this be why the Arcturus Therapeutics contracts have been allowed to continue?
Meanwhile, the rush to develop bird flu vaccines and the self-replicating mRNA platform has already gone global like a virus of its own.
Over in Europe, regulators granted marketing authorization for Arcturus Therapeutics’ Kostaive—the continent’s first self-amplifying mRNA COVID-19 injection—despite no long-term safety data, approving both an injectable and powder form as part of the global rollout now underway.
In Japan, health regulators approved Arcturus Therapeutics’ ARCT-154—the nation’s first self-amplifying mRNA COVID-19 vaccine—despite Gates Foundation funding, BlackRock ownership, and the jab’s design to produce even more spike protein than first-gen mRNA shots by copying itself inside the body.
What Comes Next: Whole-Virus and ‘Better’ Platforms?
While the new HHS announcement does not affect all uses of mRNA technology within HHS, it signals a definitive shift in the federal government’s vaccine development priorities.
“Going forward, BARDA will focus on platforms with stronger safety records and transparent clinical and manufacturing data practices. Technologies that were funded during the emergency phase but failed to meet current scientific standards will be phased out in favor of evidence-based, ethically grounded solutions—like whole-virus vaccines and novel platforms.”
Whole-virus vaccines are often developed using gain-of-function techniques—as is the case with the measles (MMR) vaccine—and are prone to “shedding,” whereby the virus inside the vaccine and injected into patients can spread to others.
The decision follows a comprehensive internal review of mRNA-related projects initiated during the COVID-19 emergency.
Cancellations, Terminations, & Contract Rejections
The wind-down affects a wide range of companies and institutions involved in federal mRNA vaccine development:
Cancelled: BARDA’s award to Moderna/UTMB for an mRNA-based H5N1 bird flu vaccine
Terminated: Contracts with Emory University and Tiba Biotech
De-scoped: mRNA-related work in existing contracts with Luminary Labs, ModeX, and Seqirus
Rejected or Cancelled: Pre-award solicitations from Pfizer, Sanofi Pasteur, CSL Seqirus, Gritstone, and others submitted through BARDA’s Rapid Response Partnership Vehicle (RRPV) and VITAL Hub
Restructured: Collaborations with Department of Defense JPEO, affecting nucleic acid-based vaccine projects with AAHI, AstraZeneca, and HDT Bio
The Bottom Line
Under Robert F. Kennedy Jr., HHS is shrinking the government’s mRNA projects while citing data failure, safety limitations, and a need for ethical reform in vaccine development.
Yet even as BARDA pulls the plug on dozens of failed mRNA projects—including a cancelled Moderna bird flu vaccine—the U.S. government is doubling down on the same agenda, fast-tracking Arcturus’ self-replicating H5N1 shot and pumping $500 million into its own bird flu vaccine program, proving the race to inject is far from over.
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Some progress at last but they need to stop the actual jabs and criminalize vaccination via food and mosquitoes!
Now remove the Prep Act!